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United States Patent and Trademark Office › Trademarks › Generic Marks

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.... more +
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.    less -
DarrowEverett LLP

Super Hero No More: How Marvel and DC Lost Their Trademark on a Genre

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I distinctly remember purchasing the Superman/Spiderman team-up when it came out in 1981. It was an oversized comic book, with heavier than usual pages and a vibrant color scheme, and that made it perfect for laying it out on...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane - It’s in the Public Domain! USPTO Cancels Marvel and DC Comics’ Trademarks for SUPER HERO and SUPER...

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark office has done what Thanos and Lex Luthor never could—defeat the larger than life combined forces of Marvel and DC. Despite being well-known rivals, DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, April 2024: Chile/Chili Crunch, Jelly Roll, and Seltzer Sales

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Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: David...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: Trademark Denied for “ChatGPT”

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The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied OpenAI’s applications to trademark “ChatGPT” and “GPT.” The Final Office Action states, “Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a...more

Vondran Legal

Proper grounds to cancel another companies trademark

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In business, trademarks are everything. It's how consumers come to know, love and trust your brand. It's a valuable corporate asset, and many disputes can arise of name rights with the explosion of e-commerce and the...more

Smith Anderson

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Enters the Cheese Wars: Determining Genericness for Trademark Registration

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Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considered whether “gruyere” cheese can be registered as a trademark in the United States, or whether it is merely a generic term that is not entitled to...more

Fish & Richardson

TTAB Rules Consumer Perception Remains the Critical Inquiry for Generic.gTLD Marks

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In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a rule that the combination of a generic term and a generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) is per se generic. See USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., 140 S. Ct. 2298 (2020) (“Booking.com”). In...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023: How to Lose a Mark in 3 Ways – Part 2: Genericide

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One of the signs of a healthy trademark is a certain level of distinctiveness. Distinctiveness is related to consumers’ love and recognition of a mark as an indicator of a product’s source, such that consumers trust the mark...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023

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Thank you for reading the July 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we continue our three-part series that closely examines ways to lose trademark rights with a discussion of genericide. We...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - May 2023

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Thank you for reading the May 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Taco Bell's attempt to cancel two TACO TUESDAY trademark registrations, and a precedential TTAB decision...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - May 2023: TACO TUESDAY – Generic Term, Failure to Function, or BOTH

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Taco Bell’s recent efforts to liberate the phrase “Taco Tuesday” presents an opportunity to review the distinctions between marks that are generic and those that fail to function as a trademark....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Not All Gruyere Comes From Gruyère: A Primer in Geographic Certification Marks

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In a decision characterized by the National Milk Producers Federation as a "momentous victory for American consumers, farmers and food manufacturers" and a "huge victory for worldwide producers" of gruyere cheese, the U.S....more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Fourth Circuit Confirms That ‘Gruyere’ is Generic for Cheese

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The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: When is trademark generic?

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In theory, a trademark can last “forever.” For example, the winged hourglass logo of the Longines watch company, originally registered in Switzerland in 1889, is the oldest valid trademark in the International Registry...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

Killing Them Easier: USPTO “Reverses” the Federal Circuit on Genericness

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC on

Generic terms—terms that are primarily understood to be the name of a product or service—cannot be trademarks. For example, one cannot register APPLE as a trademark for (you guessed it) apples. When a trademark becomes...more

McDermott Will & Emery

PTO Lowers the Bar for Genericness Refusals

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The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) recently issued Examination Guide 1-22, Clarification of Examination Evidentiary Standard for Marks Refused as Generic (Guide 1-22), which amends the PTO’s stance on the appropriate...more

Cole Schotz

5 Things Companies Should Know About The Trademark Office’s “New” Approach to Genericness

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At the end of last month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) released a guide clarifying how they were approaching the refusals of applied-for marks that could be generic. In the past, examining attorneys...more

BakerHostetler

New Lower Trademark Examination Evidentiary Standard for Genericness Refusals at the USPTO

BakerHostetler on

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued an Examination Guide clarifying the standard for refusing trademark applications on genericness grounds. Like other substantive refusals, to establish a prima...more

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP

Federal Circuit Affirms Refusal to Register Generic Top-Level Domain Trademarks

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On February 2, in In re: Vox Populi Registry Ltd., the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) refusal to register a standard character mark and a stylized mark, both related to the “.sucks”...more

Weintraub Tobin

Federal Judge Holds Swiss Cheese Makers’ Claim to Gruyere Full of Holes

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INTERPROFESSION DU GRUYÈRE, et al., v. U.S. DAIRY EXPORT COUNCIL, et al., Twas all about exclusive right to control the use of Gruyere for cheeses in the US. This case began with a 2015 application by Interprofession du...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Shifting Gears: A Quick Tour of Genericide

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Have you ever been to an indoor cycling class? If so, you most likely have heard the term “spin class,” or referred to the act itself as “spinning.” Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. would take offense, however, calling such uses...more

BakerHostetler

USPTO Provides Guidance in View of ‘Booking.com’

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On June 30, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States decided USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., rejecting a rule that a proposed mark consisting of the combination of a generic term and a generic top-level domain, like “.com,” is...more

International Lawyers Network

Can Trademarks having Domain Indicators Like “Dot Com” be Registered?

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Suppose that you want to federally register a trademark that has a domain indicator like “.com” at the end that identifies a source of goods or services related to your business. The trademark may have a first part that is...more

Jones Day

JONES DAY TALKS®: Women in IP: 2020 in Review and a Look Toward 2021

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Jones Day's Meredith Wilkes and Anna Raimer discuss 2020's most significant developments in trademark law and preview what's to come in 2021, including possible progress in Washington on the highly anticipated Trademark...more

McAfee & Taft

What this year’s Supreme Court opinions mean for you

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2020 was a tumultuous year. And while you were busy shifting to online meetings, implementing new measures to keep employees and customers safe, and otherwise adapting to the challenges created by the coronavirus, the U.S....more

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